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A Sacred Chedi for Anandagiri Forest Monastery

In the last few months, while still sincerely trying to keep up my own meditation disciplines, I have also been involved in a significant 'big' new project here at the monastery.

While a beautiful, tranquil and serene place now, few people know that Anandagiri is situated in a place that was literally a 'war zone' just 40 years ago! When government and communist forces were battling it out for more than a decade. Many thousands of people died in that unfortunate conflict. In an effort to offer some kind of assistance to ghosts left behind after the war, (yes… I am serious)… and to improve the 'psychic' environment for the meditators who practice here, we have commenced the building of an 18 metre tall Cetiya (Chedi) to house relics and sacred objects.

Related to this project, we also recently received visits from both Tan Ajahn Anan and Tan Ajahn Piak, two highly respected senior meditation masters in the lineage of Ajahn Chah. These great practitioners visited for the purpose of blessing the foundation and lower levels of the Chedi, and to assist in the 'transference of merits' to our unseen friends. (To very good effect I am happy to report) Both visits were very joyful, wonderful and powerful.

Alongside these events, there was also the planting of 3000 more little trees on ten new adjoining acres that were gifted to us last year. June was actually quite an intense month for us here! Things are quieter now however, since we've entered our three month rainy season retreat.

Because I feel that this project is both worthy and truly interesting, I have decided to share it with you all in considerable detail at the website. So rather than try and explain the 'multi-dimensional' aspects of this project, and the various reasons for it here in this little update notice. I have created an in-depth slideshow where you can witness the project to date, including the visits by the two Venerable Ajahns. There is also a link to an extensive article that I have written related to the subject of Chedi's and Relics, with some more background as to why we have committed to the new project.

So if you have ever wondered why there are so many Chedis in Buddhist countries?Or what the benefits of constructing them might be?Or wondered what a relic actually is?Or wondered how an object might actually come to be blessed?

My article might answer some of these questions. If on the other hand you've never wondered about any of these things before, you might learn something new and interesting by exploring the subject when you have a moment.

I sincerely hope that some of what I've shared on this occasion may prove to be an interesting contemplation – both informative and uplifting.